During the evening of 19 December 1975, two coordinated attacks were carried out by the
Ulster Volunteer Force
The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) is an Ulster loyalist paramilitary group. Formed in 1965, it first emerged in 1966. Its first leader was Gusty Spence, a former British Army soldier from Northern Ireland. The group undertook an armed campaign ...
(UVF) in pubs either side of the
Irish border. The first attack, a
car bombing, took place outside Kay's Tavern, a pub along Crowe Street in
Dundalk
Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...
,
County Louth,
Republic of Ireland
Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...
- close to the border. The second, a gun and bomb attack, took place at Donnelly's Bar & Filling Station in
Silverbridge, County Armagh
Silverbridge is a small village in the townland of Legmoylin in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is within the Newry and Mourne District Council area. In the 2011 Census it had a recorded population of 112. The local GAA club is Silverbri ...
, just across the border inside
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
. The attack has been linked to the
Glenanne gang
The Glenanne gang or Glenanne group was a secret informal alliance of Ulster loyalists who carried out shooting and bombing attacks against Catholics and Irish nationalists in the 1970s, during the Troubles. , a group of
loyalist militants who were either members of the UVF, the
Ulster Defence Regiment
The Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) was an infantry regiment of the British Army established in 1970, with a comparatively short existence ending in 1992. Raised through public appeal, newspaper and television advertisements,Potter p25 their offi ...
(UDR), the
Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) and the closely linked UVF paramilitary the
Red Hand Commando
The Red Hand Commando (RHC) is a small Ulster loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland that is closely linked to the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF). Its aim was to combat Irish republicanism – particularly the Irish Republican Army (IR ...
(RHC), some of the Glenanne gang were members of two of these organizations at the same time like gang leaders
Billy Hanna who was in both the UVF and the UDR and who fought for the
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
during the
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
and
John Weir who was in the UVF and was a sergeant in the RUC. At least 25 UDR men and police officers were named as members of the gang. The
Red Hand Commando
The Red Hand Commando (RHC) is a small Ulster loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland that is closely linked to the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF). Its aim was to combat Irish republicanism – particularly the Irish Republican Army (IR ...
claimed to have carried out both attacks.
Attacks
According to journalist Joe Tiernan, the attacks were planned and led by
Robert McConnell and
Robin "The Jackal" Jackson who were both alleged to have carried out dozens of
sectarian murders during
The Troubles
The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an " ...
, mainly from 1974 to 1977, mostly in south Armagh - which in 1975 was virtually lawless; loyalist paramilitaries and the
Provisional IRA
The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republicanism, Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, fa ...
roamed the streets and countryside and could set up bogus
military checkpoint
Civilian checkpoints or security checkpoints are distinguishable from border or frontier checkpoints in that they are erected and enforced within contiguous areas under military or paramilitary control. Civilian checkpoints have been employed w ...
s freely.
The attack was planned at the Glenanne farm of RUC reserve officer James Mitchell which was where most
terrorist
Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
acts were planned by the gang and the farm also acted as a UVF arms dump and bomb-making site. After the attacks were finished everyone involved in both attacks was to meet at Mitchell's farm. Then if there was any heat Mitchell could claim the bombers and shooters were with him when the attacks happened.
The first phase of the plan started at around 18:15 along Crowe Street in Dundalk when a 100-pound no-warning bomb exploded in a
Ford
Ford commonly refers to:
* Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford
* Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river
Ford may also refer to:
Ford Motor Company
* Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company
* Ford F ...
sports car just outside Kay's Tavern. The blast killed Hugh Waters who was a tailor and had just dropped into the pub to deliver some clothes he had altered for the pub's owner almost instantly. Jack Rooney who was walking past the town hall on the opposite side of the street was struck in the head by flying shrapnel and died three days later. A further 20 people were injured in the explosion, several of them very seriously. The car bomb was fitted with fake southern registration plates and placed in one of the busiest streets in Dundalk in the hope of causing maximum death and injury. According to Joe Tiernan, UVF commander Robin Jackson planted the bomb and along with other members of his unit escaped across the border in a blue
Hillman Hunter
Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, horn/antler, ...
around the time the bomb went off.
At around 21:00(9:00PM), about three hours after the Dundalk bombing, the second phase of the coordinated plan began. It was led by McConnell and took place at Donnelly's Bar & Filling Station in the small Armagh village Silverbridge, close to
Crossmaglen
Crossmaglen (, ) is a village and townland in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 1,610 in the 2011 Census and is the largest village in South Armagh. The village centre is the site of a large Police Service of Northern Ire ...
.
The unit arrived in two cars and came unusually fast towards the pub. The publican's son Michael Donnelly (14) was serving petrol to a customer. He noticed the strange speed of the cars. He tried to run towards the pub, but McConnell jumped out of one of the cars and shot the teenage boy dead with a
Sten gun. McConnell then shot the man Michael Donnelly had been serving petrol to in the head. Although the man survived the shooting he was maimed for life.
Then a second gunman, believed to be
Billy McCaughey
William McCaughey (c. 1950 – 8 February 2006) was a member of the Royal Ulster Constabulary's Special Patrol Group and the illegal Ulster Volunteer Force's Glennane gang in the 1970s. He was imprisoned for 16 years for murder from 1980 to ...
, a UVF volunteer and member of the
RUC Special Patrol Group, shot dead a second person, local man Patrick Donnelly (no relation to the pub owner's family) who had been waiting for petrol. McConnell then went inside the pub and sprayed the bar with his Sten SMG, killing a third man, Trevor Bracknell, and seriously injuring three more people.
As McConnell withdrew to his car, two other members of the unit carried a 25-pound cylinder bomb inside the pub. As McConnell's unit fled back to Mitchell's farm, the bomb detonated inside the pub. However by this time most of the people had already fled. The explosion at Kay's Tavern destroyed about 80% of the building, started a huge fire and injured two more people; with one of the injured men losing a foot and a hand in the explosion. Nobody has ever been charged for these crimes, allegations of police collusion.
References
{{Ulster Volunteer Force
1975 in Northern Ireland
1975 mass shootings in Europe
1975 murders in the United Kingdom
1970s in County Armagh
1970s mass shootings in the United Kingdom
Attacks on bars in Europe
Attacks on bars in Northern Ireland
Attacks on buildings and structures in 1975
Attacks on buildings and structures in the Republic of Ireland
British military scandals
Car and truck bombings in the Republic of Ireland
Crime in County Louth
Deaths by firearm in Northern Ireland
December 1975 crimes
December 1975 events in the United Kingdom
False flag operations
Improvised explosive device bombings in 1975
Improvised explosive device bombings in Northern Ireland
Mass shootings in Northern Ireland
Military scandals
Murder in County Armagh
Terrorist incidents in County Armagh
Terrorist incidents in the United Kingdom in 1975
1970s murders in Northern Ireland
1975 crimes in Ireland
The Troubles in County Armagh
Ulster Defence Regiment
Ulster Volunteer Force actions
Building bombings in Europe
Building bombings in Northern Ireland